Illuminating device



May 17', 1932. K. EDISON ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 24, 1930 4 Sheets -Sheet l I [val M'ZQ A TTORNEY May 17, 1932. K. EDISON ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 24, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR.

BY M t My A TTORNEY May 1?, 1932. K. EDISON 1,858,806

ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 24. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lw J7 I 0 I M4 8; 79 m 4 m; I o f a a 9 z r! 5/ x I.

JJ 4/) A? 7 78 /5 5 A 27 .4, 77 a 7 I M9 8 l I lllzf log 86 OI INVENT OR. 36 20 [M 86 l a By W \91 W, H 38 ATTORNEY ATTOliNEY May 17, 1932. K. EDISON ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed Dec.

24, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 17, 1932 KARL EDISON, or ROSCOE, NEW YORK IL LUMINA' IING DEVICE Application filed December 24, 1930. Serial Nb. 504,545.

The present invention relates to electrical illuminating devices designed to be used for signalling or advertising purposes or the like.

One of the principal objects ofthe present invention is the provision of anilluminating device, capable of throwing light for great distances in more than one direction.

Another object is the provision of an illuminating device which with a single light source gives the effect of the multiple light source. 7

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device which is readily demountable and has great portability thereby lending itself readily for use in military services.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a device which has. a very high lighting efficiency and is comparatively light in weight.

' Still a further object isthe provision of a device which is adapted to emit a'multi-colored light. I

And another object is the provision of a device which may be cheaply manufactured.

Vith the above and other objects in View, my invention comprises the novel combination arrangement and construction of elements to be hereinafter more fully described shown and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and in which similar reference characters denote corresponding parts Fig. 1 is a frontelevation assembly view of my device;

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevational view of my device;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the color varying and distributing means of-my device;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation partially in section of the device of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detailed View of the reflectors;

Fig. 6 is a section along line 66 of Fig. 5

i seen in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the upper por- I of the arrow A in Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a partial section along line 9-9 tral point of said seat is a hollow tubular post 13. Fixedly but removably mounted in the upper end of said post and projecting upwardly therefrom is a hollow shaft 14 which at its upper end has mounted thereto two independent commutating rings 15 and 16respectively both borne on an insulating sleeve or collar 17 Keyed to shaft 14 above the seat 11 and spaced therefrom by a collar 18 is a gear 19. Rotatably mounted on shaft 14 above gear 19 and supported on ball bearings 20 is an internal gear 21. Attached to the top of said gear and also rotatable about shaft 14 is support 22 having two upwardly extending arms 23 and 24 respectively. A second support 25 having two downwardly extending arms 26 and 27 which are pivoted respectively to the arms 23 and 24 is provided. A stop pin 27' mounted to either one of the arms 26 or 27 and adapted to engage in a depression 28 in the corresponding arm 23 or 24 is provided and serves to limit the rotation of support 25 about support 22.

. Mounted to the support 25 are two bracket arms 29 and whose upper ends are adapted to be attached to the supporting frame for the light source and reflector to be presently described.

Suitably mounted between two of the arms of the base 10 is an electric motor 31 preferably covered by an overall casing 32 whose two opposite open ends may be covered by screening 32. The motor shaft 33 projects on both sides of the motor and on one end has mounted thereon a fan 34 for cooling purposes. The other end of said shaft projects outwardly through the screening 82'- and has mounted thereon a worm gear 35. A shaft 36 mounted in bearing 37 at the base and bearing 88 in the seat 11 and gear 19 is provided and said shaft has a gear .39 keyed to it and designed to mesh with gear 35. A spur gear keyed to the upper end of shaft 36 meshes with the internal gear 21 and consequently when said shaft is rotated by the motor said internal gear and the light and reflector supporting frame rotate with it about shaft 14.

The reflector and light supporting frame may comprise a circular plate 41 of metal or other suitable material which. may be cut away as at 41 to reduce its weight. Fixedly mounted centrally in a suitable opening in said plate is a bearing block 12 which supports a tube 423 projecting at right angles to the plane of said plate. An electric light socket A l is mounted at the free end of said tube. The said socket may be of the type adapted for use with bulbs having a 500 to 1000 'lVatt rating or more. Attached to said socket is a concave reflector 45 preferably made of highly polished so-called rustless steel or of other material covered by a noncorroding chrome-plate which has been highly polished.

Rotatably mounted on the tube 48 is a master gear 46 which has integrally formed therewith or suitably attached thereto a sleeved? which surrounds said tube 43 and extendsover a considerable length thereof. Suitably spaced from the plate 41 by a plurality of spacer posts, 18 mounted around the circumference of said plate is a ring- A9 whose diameter is equal to that of said plate. Mounted to a cross piece 49 which extends as a chord of said ring is a bearing 50 which engages the sleeve l7 and serves as additional support therefor. The said cross piece may be integrally formed with or attached to said ring. A spacing collar 51 mounted about said sleeve between the bearing and an annular shoulder a7 of said sleeve prevents displacement of said gear along said tube 43. Keyed to the upper end of said sleeve 47, which latter may have a reduced diameter thereat, is a spider 52, shown in the present embodiment as having three equispaced laterally extending legs. At each of the free ends of said spider legs is mounted a post 53 which extends parallel to the tube 43 and in the same direction. Also mounted to said sleeve l7 just above said spider is a circular disk 54 whose diameter is substantially equal to or slightly less than that of the ring 49.

An overall covering cylindrical drum 55 having a plurality of longitudinally extending slots 56 at its top end is mounted to the frame formed by plate 41 and ring 49 Suitably mounted inside of said drum and preferably to a solid portion of the plate ll is a bracket 57 formed with a bearing 57' which latter is adapted to support a rotatable spindle 58 whose longitudinal axis is parallel to the longitudinal axis of tube 43. Keyed at the lower end of said spindle which projects below said bearing 57 is a spur gear 59 which latter is adapted to mesh with master gear 46. Keyed to the upper end of said spindle or otherwise suitably located is a bevel gear 60.

Pivotally mounted as at 57 to the said bracket 57 is a bearing block 61 which extends laterally relative to the spindle 58 and out through one of the slots 56 in said drum. Suitable setting means 61 serve to position said bearing block at any desired angle. Rotatably mounted in said bearing block and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof is a spindle 62, whose inner end has keyed thereto a bevel gear 63 which latter meshes with bevel gear 60. The teeth of said two bevel gears must be coarse so that reasonable angular adjustment of the spindle 62 by adjustment of its bearing block 61 may be made without the unmeshing said gears. Suitable collars 64 serve to prevent longitudinal displacements of the respective spindles 58 and 62. Spindle 62 is comparatively long.

Telescopically and removably mounted on the spindle 62 is a tube 65. A locking screw 66 near the inner end of said tube serves to set said tube in any desired position along said spindle. Mounted near the front end of said tube is a block 67 shown in the present instance as having a square section. A similar block 68 is mounted intermediate the inner end of said tube and said first named block. Mounted to block 67 and extending in opposite directions on opposite sides of said block and parallel to the respective sides to which they are mounted are two supporting posts 69 and 70. Two reflector blades 71 and 72 are adapted to be attachectrespectively to the supporting posts 69 and and to opposite edges of the block 68. "The said blades are highly polished on both sides and may be made of the same material as the concave reflector 45. The said reflectors each have the shape of a trapezoid one'of whose side edges 0 is perpendicular to the two parallel edges. In the embodiment shown for example the dimensions are as follows The base a is twice as long as top edge 6 and the vertical side wall 0 about 16/7 as long as said base. The said blades are fastened to said block 68, 13/64 of the length of said side wall from the top edges Z) of said blades and the block 67 is spaced 5/16 of the length of said side wall from said block 68 and then each blade fastened to one of the respective posts 69 and 7 O, thereto attached. This gives said blades a curvature similar to that shown in Fig. 2. The points of the attachment are approximately 1/7 the length of said top edge I) from the vertical side edge 0 of each of said blades.

There are eight brackets 57 equi-spaced on plate 41 eachsimilarly supporting spindles 58 and 62 and the corresponding bevel gears and reflector blades. Each of the gears 59 meshes with the master gear 46 so that all the, eight pairs of reflector blades rotate when said master gear is rotated.

The master gear is driven by a gear 73 which is attached to a spindle 74 suitably journalled in a bearing 75 mounted to or formed in plate 41. A bevel gear 76 is mounted at the outer end of said spindle 74. Mesh ing with gear 76 is a bevel gear 77 mounted on the end of a spindle 78 which latter is rotatably journalled in a bearing 79 attached to plate 41. Connected to the free end of spindle 78 by a universal joint 80 is a spindle 81 which is telescopically mounted in a tube 82 and keyed thereto by a pin 83, engaging in a slot 84 in said tube. The lower end of said tube 82 is connected by a universal joint 85 to a spindle 86 which latter is rotatably journalled in a bearing 87 which in turn is fixedly mounted to the internal gear 21. Keyed to spindle 86'preferably at itslower end is F a spur gear 88 which is designed to mesh with gear 19. Thus when internal gear 21 is rotated, gear 88 will roll around the fixed gear 19 and impart rotation to the master gear 46 and hence to the eight pairs of reflector blades.

Adapted to be adjustably mounted to the spider 52 by means of the post 53 is my light distributor and color changer in form of a globe of any shape. The said changer may 1 comprise two star shaped frames 89 and 90 spaced from each other by suitable spacing rods 91. Mounted along the perimeter of said frames, extending between the latter and on suitable brackets 92, are colored transparent or translucent plates 93 of glass or other suitable material. The adjacent edges of the respective plates are spaced from each other to a slight extent to permit air circulation. The color arrangement may be anything desired and said plates may be replaceable, said brackets serving to securely but removably hold the plates in place. The frames 89 and 90 have enlarged central openings 89 and 90 and. to the front frame 90 over said opening 90 a suitable lens 94 is mounted in any well known manner. Mounted to the rear frame 89 and extending rearwardly are three tubular posts 95 which are adapted to be slidably mounted over the posts 53 of the spider.

- Suitable set screws 96 serve to adjust the position of said tubular posts on said posts 53 and consequently adjustably regulate the position of the changer with respect to the spider. The opening 89 is so admeasured that it passes over both said bulb B in socket 44 and the reflector 45. The spacing between said frames 89 and 90 is so admeasured as to permit said bulb and reflector to be completely contained within said globe when posts 95 are completely on posts 53. Openings 89 and 90 are provided in both frames 89 and 90 to permit air circulation and prevent overheating when the bulb B is lighted.

In order to regulate the angular position of the support 25 in support 22 a socket 97 is pivotally mounted to support 22. Telescopically mounted in said socket and adjustably positioned therein by means of a set screw 98 is an extendable rod made of two pieces 99' and 99 joined by a sleeve'100 in which one end of each of said rods is adjustably fixed. The free end of rod 99 is fixed to a disk 101 which is pivotally borne in a support 102 on plate 41.

The electric wiring to the lamp L is accomplished by leading respectively two wires 103 and 104 from the socket 44 through the shaft 43 to two electrical brushes 105 and 106 which respectively engage the two rings 15 and 16. Said brushes are suitably supported in a bracket 107 of insulating material or the like.

The two commutating rings are connected respectively to the power line through wires 108 and 109.

Electrically the motor 31 is connected in parallel with the electric circuit through the lamp and is controlled by a separate switch 110 shown only in the wiring diagram. A separate switch 111 controls the general power source. It will be noted that it is therefore possible to have the bulb B switched on and. the motor disconnected.

In operation when the switch 111 is closed, the bulb B is lit. Then when switch 110 is connected, motor 31 rotates, through the gearing arrangement, the support for bulb B and reflector about shaft-14 as an axis. At the same time, the reflectors on 71 and 72 are being rotated by their supporting spindles 62 and at the same time the globe supported on spider 52 is being rotated in the same direction as master gear 46 since it is keyed to the sleeve 47 of said gear. If therefore, the glass plates are multicolored, the light from bulb B which passes therethrough and strikes the reflectors 71 and 72 varies in color and is thrown all about. In addition a straight beam is thrown out through lens 94 which latter goes about a circle because of the rotation of the bulb support. The action of reflectors 70 and 71 on the light striking the same is to throw it in all directions and an effective beacon light, which is visible for great distances, is the result.

The device can be employed in theaters also source on said standard, reflector means ezoidally shaped and mounted to curve in mounted on axes extending radially about opposite direction to each other whereby the said light source, mans for rotating said relight distributed thereto by said globe is reflector means about the said radial axes and fiected in a plurality of directions.

means for directing light from said source to said reflector means.

2. An illuminating device comprising a standard, a light source supported on said standard, means for rotating said light source on said standard, a globe adapted to it over said light source, means for rotating the latter, reflector means mounted on axes extending radially about said light source and means for rotating said reflector means about said radial axes.

3. An illuminating device comprising a standard, a light source supported on said standard, means for rotating said light source, a globe adapted to be mounted over said light source, means for rotating the latter, a plurality of reflectors supported on axes extending radially about said light source and means for rotating said reflectors about said radial axes.

4. [in illuminating device comprising a standard, a light source supported on said standard, means for rotating said light source, a globe for distributing light from saio source, means for rotating said globe about said light source, a plurality of reflectors radially mounted with respect to said light source and angularly adjustable, means for rotating said reflectors about their radial axes and common means for driving all said rotating means.

5. An illuminating device comprising a standard, a light source supported on said standard, means for rotating said source on said standard, a globe for distributing light iii-om said source, means for rotating said globe about said light source, a plurality of rei'lectors radially mounted with respect to said source, radially and angularly adjustable means for rotating said reflectors about their radial axes and common means for driving all of said rotating means.

6. An illuminating device comprising a standard, a support rotatably mounted on said standard, a light source adjustably mounted on said support, means for rotating said support on said standard, a globe removably mounted about said light source for distributing and imparting color to the light emitted, reflector means radially mounted with respect to said light source, said means comprising, pairs of reflector blades mounted on radially extending shafts, means for rotating said pairs of reflectors about said shafts and common means for driving all of said rotating means. v

7. In a device as per claim 6, in which the individual blades of the respective pairs of blades curve in opposite direction.

8. In adevice as per claim 6, in which the the individual blades of each pair are trap- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

KARL EDISON. 

